I am 67 years-old and retired in December of 2019.
Currently I get Social Security and an annuity payment each month.
I live frugally but enjoy travel so I have been doing just fine
BUT given the state of what is going on in the world I am thinking
I may need to increase my income.
Do any of you have job on the side? I am open to ideas but would rather
do something part-time.
Robyn
Hi Robyn
Whats going on right now is inflation, and this can be devastating to retirees on fixed income. For example, those households who are getting a private company pension (such as pensions offered by General Mills or Coca-Cola), these pensions are fixed and do not grow with inflation. The same holds for straight Single Premium Immediate Annuities that many retirees will buy with their retirement savings when they retire. The rate of inflation is in effect a negative earning on the fixed income. For example, if you retire at 65 with a $3,000/month private pension, at age 75 the purchasing power of that $3,000 will have dropped to $2,451 at an average annual inflation rate of 2%. Increase that to an inflation rate of 4% and the purchasing power drops to $1,994. That’s over 1/3 of the pension lost to inflation. Fortunately, Social Security and all the Government pensions I’ve ever seen do have an annual inflation adjuster, but for gov pensions such as state pensions, how the COLA is figured can vary.
Working part time in retirement is an attraction to many. It may be due to the need for household income, but I think many do it to avoid boredom and to do something they like to do. Many of the customer assisters at our local Home Depot I notice are of retirement age, and they seem to like what they do and sometimes get very chatty.
BruceM
BruceM ~
Sadly, the news at the moment seems to say we are at 8.45% inflation but I am figuring that will
increase. Heck, food and gasoline certainly have gone up more than 8.45% in just a year.
I may have to figure out what would be fun to do that isn’t especially stressful. I do like to travel
so don’t want to be locked into a job where I would never be able to visit my out-of-state kids and grandchildren.
Thanks for the suggestion and your thoughts.
Robyn
Work???
Howie52
There once was a show called “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” which had a character called
Maynard Krebs as I recall. Mr. Krebs had an aversion to “work”.
However, there are many positions open for “seniors” in many fields. If you are in the mood or
in the “need” go for it. Supplemental income can be from the field you were in before retirement,
a whole new field or many entry type positions. I have run into quite a few older folk serving
as medical data entry/patient directing and similar positions. People interactions seem to suite
us.
I used to watch Dobie Gillis and can hear Bob Denver’s squeaky voice saying,
“Work???”
Maynard G Krebbs … quite the beatnik. LOL!